I freaking hate this book. This book and The Songs of Distant Earth permanently turned me off reading Clarke. (That's Clarke with an "e," OP.)

What a depressing view Clarke has of us. Still the same selfish, self-centered bastards that we are now with no respect for other species that share our living space. We just kill and take.

Pity in this book that the physical evolution wasn't accompanied by any evolution of morality or conscience.